NCIGF closed out 2018 on a very high note. Regulators adopted very positive recommendations governing large deductible insolvencies, including that states be encouraged to adopt statutes that grant the receiver the authority to collect deductible recoveries. If no statute is in place receivers are encouraged to execute an agreement with the guaranty funds to enable this process. The Working Group noted that two large deductible model statutes are available – the NAIC and the NCIGF versions.
While the issue is not quite wrapped up (NCIGF will be involved in continued discussions regarding the ultimate ownership of the deductible asset and the drafting of specific language for the Receivers Handbook) this progress is attributable the hard work of a number of our members.
Likewise, financial regulators invited NCIGF and NOLHGA to comment on the NAIC Troubled Company Handbook. Our comments were supportive (and included some fine-tuning based on member liquidation experience) because the proposed revisions to the Handbook would improve guidance to regulators on issues NCIGF members have found especially challenging:
- early communication with guaranty funds and pre-liquidation planning,
- regulator attention to the condition and availability of digital data in a troubled company,
- info on service arrangements (TPAs and MGAs),
- gathering information on the type and location of collateral, such as that intended to secure large deductible obligations
Especially impressive is the attention given to the importance of digital data in contemporary insolvencies. There now appears to be universal agreement that this is a very critical element to a successful liquidation process and key to the collaboration between guaranty funds and receivers.
To be successful, NCIGF served as the “trusted expert” and the definitive source of information on insurance insolvency and its consequences. As a result, we have enjoyed great cooperation from regulators on these issues, both of which matter to on a daily basis to NCIGF members and the policyholders you serve. We will build on these developments in the coming year!